Content:

(BB, V, S, A, DD, M) Very strong biblical/moral worldview as Freda works with care, integrity, empathy, and a love for The Beatles and fans; no foul language; no depicted violence but it’s stated after the fact that Beatles manager died am accidental drug-related death and; no sexual immorality, but newly married couple French kiss; no nudity; no alcohol; stills of two men with cigarettes and reference to a drug-related death; and, nothing else.

Summary:

GOOD OL’ FREDA is a documentary about Freda Kelly and her 11 years as secretary for The Beatles from 1962 to 1973. GOOD OL’ FREDA is an entertaining, nostalgic documentary showing the care, integrity, empathy, and love one woman demonstrated toward her famous employers and their families and fans.

Review:

GOOD OL’ FREDA is an interesting documentary about Freda Kelly and her 11 years as secretary for The Beatles from 1962 to 1973.

The movie opens with photographs and voiceovers of each individual member of The Beatles as they introduce themselves and give kudos to Freda. She was not only a top-notch secretary, but also an endearing fan and friend. At age 17, the media labeled Freda as having the job every secretary wants to have. She was a modest girl from Liverpool, England, where she lived with her father. Her father was quite protective of Freda since her mother died when Freda was only 18 months old. Her father perceived The Beatles as a band of characters he didn’t want his daughter to associate. However, Freda with her quiet, respectful, and persuasive demeanor, was able to remain their secretary for 11 years.

Freda was responsible for the day-to-day administrative duties as needed by The Beatles and their manager and her boss, Brian Epstein. She also ran their fan club, answering thousands of fan letters and writing a regularly published newsletter on The Beatles. In GOOD OL’ FREDA, Freda herself shares stories with grace, honesty and yet discretion about the work and family life of the most popular boy band in history. She appears quite humble and did not try to profit from the fame and fortune surrounding her by disclosing sensitive or private information about her job or The Beatles. Family and co-workers in the movie attest to Freda’s innate character to serve with humility and integrity, and today she’s still working as a secretary elsewhere.

The production quality of GOOD OL’ FREDA is very good. Rather than just tell a chronological story of The Beatles’ history as a band, the documentary gives insight to the individual personalities of each Beatle and their families. Throughout the movie, interviews, original music, photographs, and Freda’s own personal memorabilia are shared with the audience, which adds another layer of history and story to complement the movie’s basic storyline. GOOD OL’ FREDA has a mostly moral worldview. As an employee for four of the most famous people in the 1960s, Freda does everything with care, integrity, empathy, and a love for The Beatles and their fans. Freda also does what she can to support the families of The Beatles. She regularly serves and helps them in the exciting yet daunting task of writing to their many fans. Some of the themes found throughout GOOD OL’ FREDA are family, integrity, and service. It’s a tasteful and insightful documentary that can be appreciated by Beatles fans old and new.

In Brief:

GOOD OL’ FREDA is an interesting documentary about Freda Kelly and her 11 years as secretary for The Beatles from 1962 to 1973. The movie opens with photographs and voiceovers of each member of The Beatles as they introduce themselves and commend Freda. Freda herself shares stories with grace, honesty, and yet discretion about the work and family life of the most popular boy band in history. She refused to financially benefit from, or spreads gossip about, the celebrity of her four famous employers.

The production quality of GOOD OL’ FREDA is good. Rather than just tell a chronological story of The Beatles’ history as a band, the documentary gives insight to the individual personalities of each Beatle and their families. Interviews, original music, photographs, and Freda’s own personal memorabilia are shared, all of which add another layer of history and story to complement the basic storyline. GOOD OL’ FREDA shows the care, integrity, empathy, and love one woman demonstrated toward her famous employers and their families and fans. It’s an entertaining, nostalgic documentary for Beatles fans, rock aficionados, and regular moviegoers.